The Stage is Set for the 100th Bugle Band Contest

Everything you need to know about the 100th Bugle Band Contest

For more than a century, brass bands have been making their way to a small clay-mining village in Cornwall for what has become one of the most unique and cherished events in the brass band calendar. 

The Bugle Band Contest returns this year with bands from across the country competing throughout the day, but the contest is about far more than trophies and results. It’s a celebration of community, tradition and everything that makes brass banding special. 

Bugle Band Contest: 114 Years of Brass Band History

The Bugle Band Contest is one of the oldest surviving contests in brass banding and holds a unique place in the movement’s history. It is the only open air contest still in existence from the early days of brass band contesting and has been around for 114 years. It is a contest steeped in history, with bands having attended from all across the world over the years, from America to the Netherlands. The contest was first held in order to raise funds to build an institute for the working men in the district and a bandroom for the band. 

Alongside the National Brass Band Championships (Championship Section), it is the only other contest with a ‘Royal Trophy’, as the King is a patron of the contest. For many Cornish bandspeople, it is the trophy they all want to win. 

The atmosphere at the Bugle Contest is like no other. Hundreds of people in a field, listening to brass band music all day, chatting to people they haven’t seen for a year, eating pasties, drinking tea in the famous ‘tea tent’, children running around and having fun, as well as the occasional train horn during a quiet passage of music!

Speaking of music, all of the music performed on the day will be from the pen of a Cornish Composer, with two brand new commissions being featured by Chris Bond and Paul Saggers. 

It is also a contest where all bands, supporters and spectators can celebrate the success of the day, as bands march back up through the village following the results. They can show off all their silverware and the winner of the Championship Section and Royal Trophy play ‘Deep Harmony’ in the square at the top of the road. 

List of Bands Competing at the Bugle Band Contest

Championship Section:

• Camborne Town

• GUS

• St Austell Town

• Roche Brass

• St Dennis

• Staffordshire

First Section

• Forest of Dean

• Bodmin Town

• Porthleven Town

Second Section

• Mount Charles

• Lydney

• Lanner & District Silver

• Newport Borough

• St Keverne

Third Section

• Jubilee Brass 

• Illogan Sparnon

• Saltash Town

Fourth Section

• Lostwithiel Town

• Pendennis Brass

• Indian Quens

• Bugle Silver

• Carharrack & St Day

• Plymouth City Academy

Youth Section

• St Austell Youth

• St Dennis Youth

Training Section

• Plymouth City Training

• Indian Queens Training

Festival Showcase Section

• St Newlyn East

• Liskeard Silver

• Holsworthy Town

• St Breward Silver

• Redruth Town 

• Bay Brass

What spectators can expect on the day

First thing in the morning, bands march down the high street, through Bugle, and are judged on their marching. So, spectators should arrive for 8:30am to watch the morning march. The contest will then commence at 9:30 am in the field with the 4th section. 

In the field, spectators will be able to watch bands, with seats available outside or under the cover of a marquee (shelter from rain or blazing sun, depending on what the weather has in store on the day!), as well as lots of standing space. 

There are food and ice cream vans to keep spectators fuelled throughout the day, as well as the famous tea tent with all the Cornish delicacies you could ever want - pasties and saffron cake to name a few. 

Following the conclusion of the Championship Section, the results will take place. Once the results have finished, bands prepare to march back up the street with their trophies. 

I had the opportunity to speak with the Press Secretary of the event, Lia Teague, to find out a bit more about the event and what makes Bugle Contest so special:

“It’s probably the most sociable band contest there is! You’re able to listen to a band, eat a pasty and chat to your mate all at the same time! It’s a full day of music-making, where you’ll see players of all ages take to the stage, from little children who have just started out to brass banding stalwarts who have been playing with their band for 70 years. 

It’s very child friendly, with facilities for children to be involved in activities or to run around with their friends. I know it sounds like a pretty distracting place for a band to be playing, but at Bugle Contest, it just makes sense. Nobody bats an eyelid at a train horn or barking dogs. It all fits into the setting! Personally, it’s my favourite day of the year. 

Put it this way - I’ve never heard anyone say they would never come back again! If people go for the first time, it’s never the only time.”

History on Display

As well as the contest, there will be an exhibition at Wheal Martyn that runs from the 12th of June to the 24th of July with interesting documents and artefacts that date back to the contest’s beginnings in 1912. Some interesting pieces of history you can expect to see include:

• Commemorative plaques

• Telegrams

• Uniforms and ceremonial items

• Photographs and newspaper cuttings

  
  

Find out more about the 2026 Bugle Contest 

The West of England Bandsmen’s Festival is such a unique brass band event that is both steeped in history and attracts the next generation of banders and band enthusiasts. To find out more about the event, visit the Bugle Band Contest website.